There are several products that require fiber optic cables to be prepared in the field (including mechanical connectors and fusion splicers). This preparation includes prepping the cable down to bare 125 μm fiber and then cleaving so that the glass can be used. These steps typically include stripping the 250 μm acrylate coating, cleaning the debris created by that stripping, placing the now bare glass into a mechanical cleaver, performing the cleave on the fiber, and then disposing of the scrap fiber.
Conventional methods require multiple tools to perform each preparation steps. There are stripping tools that also require a cleaning step on the fiber. There are stripping tools that handle the cleaning while stripping. There are also cleaving tools that cleave cleaned bare glass but do not dispose of the scrap. There are further cleaving tools that cleave cleaned bare glass and do dispose of the scrap. Each of the conventional devices have mechanical, use, and cost differences which make each of them preferable in certain situations. However, none is capable of performing all required steps in ideally one action.